Indigo League: A New Begining
by SilverBear1992
Summary: Set ten years after the events of Red and Blue, a new journey is about to unfold for a pair of brothers. Some new faces and old faces appear through out this story and a lot of Pokemon. I do not own any rights to Pokemon or their likeness. That's Game Freak and Nintendo. Rated T for mild language, okay maybe more swears to come. Feedback is most welcome.
1. A New Beginning

Chapter 1  
A New Beginning

The weather was changing, putting an eerie chill to the air in Johto. A very spacious ranch is shown in the moonlight. Many Pokémon are sleeping under the stars whilst some are still active, playing games with one another. Only one room is lit in this big house, and a young man is sitting in his study looking over a photo and news paper articles. In the photograph stands the young man with soulful blue eyes, short brown hair, and a well trimmed beard along side his six Pokémon. This young man is Bear, the former Pokémon League Champion of Kanto and Johto. After losing the title as league champion, Bear had quested to complete his Pokédex given to him by Professor Oak six years prior.

The morning came early for Bear. His Umbreon, a black dog-like Pokémon with blue rings and blue eyes, had awakened him due to the Pokégear ringing nonstop. After rolling out of bed and rubbing the sleep from his eyes Bear looks at the missed calls on his Pokegear. Two are from his mother back in Kanto and one is from Professor Oak. The messages remind him of the same thing; tomorrow is his younger brother's graduation from the Pokémon Academy founded by Red and Blue in Pallet town, and the day after that he sets out on his own journey. It seems that Bear doesn't get a moment of rest, because Professor Elm is now pounding on his front door. "Bear answer the door this is urgent," shouted Elm. Unlike Professor Oak of the Kanto region, Elm is a young, thin man with wire rimmed glasses and short brown hair and is easily excitable.  
Opening the door to an almost frantic Pokémon Professor is one thing, but the surprise in store for Bear is almost unimaginable. "Bear, the research that Professor Oak and I have accomplished on Pokémon and their breeding habits is astounding!" Elm exclaimed. "We also have evidence of prehistoric Pokémon breeding, therefore we predict that the 'Legendary' Pokémon also have to breed, or else they would become extinct as well. The reason these Pokémon are classified as 'Legendary' is due to the infrequent sightings of them."

"I understand this Prof. Elm, but I don't really see your point."

"You yourself have captured 'Legendary' Pokémon, Bear. Entei, Suicune, and Raikou presented themselves to you because of your abilities as a trainer. That is why I wish you to take these with you to Kanto when you leave for Ethan's graduation," pulling two Pokémon eggs, each about the size of a bowling ball, from a paded carrying case ,"And give these to Professor Oak."

One egg is a beautiful fire orange with gold flames starting at the bottom and going to the top. The other is a pale blue with what appear to be silver waves around its mid section. "Bear, these eggs are very important to our research. One was found on the beach of Cianwood City and the other near Ecruteak City, and we have no idea what Pokémon lies inside each egg. That is why Prof. Oak would like to take a look at them for himself, but he needs to be able to present the graduating trainers with their Pokémon and Pokédex."

"And that is the reason you tasked me with this?" interrupted Bear.

"I did not suggest this, Oak did" stated Elm.

"I guess I can't let Prof. Oak down," said Bear defeatedly,"He's part of the reason I have all of this." Walking over to a display case, Bear opens it and pulls out a Pokéball. Worn with age and faded it seems this lone Pokéball has been through a lot. "Elm, give me fifteen minutes an ill be ready to head out." says Bear as he walks outside and Elm soon follows him out. "Blaze come here!" shouts Bear, and soon after a Charizard lands near him. This Charizard is different from most, instead of the red-orange color to the scales, this Charizard's is as black as coal.

"Is that a black Charizard?" Elm asks astounded.

"Yes, it is."

"Where did you get such a magnificent Pokémon?"

"From Prof. Oak, of course. Blaze was my first Pokémon. I grew up admiring Oak's grandson, Blue, and his Charizard and always wanted one." Bear said full of thought and remembrance,"I made it my goal to be the top of my class so I got to choose first out of every one else. There were nine of us, and unfortunately I was at the bottom of the nine... I was for sure that the Charmanders were all taken, but when it came my turn there was one Pokéball left, and it had a Charmander that wasn't the normal color, it was lighter and I'm assuming that is why he was left."

"That doesn't explain why this Charizard turned out to be black instead of it's normal color." Elm excitedly rambled.

Bear chuckled climbing on Blaze's back, "Elm, next time you talk to Professor Oak, ask him about his theory on 'shiny' Pokémon. That should clear things up for you. Now if you'll excuse me I'll be on my way to Pallet Town." With a gust of wind from Blaze's wings the duo became airborne. "I know you don't like flying long distances with me on your back, Blaze, but flying is the quickest way home."  
"_Home_... that's a place we haven't been for quite some time."

Shortly before noon, Bear lands in front of a quaint little house with tan siding and a red roof. His childhood home where he grew up with his brother and two sisters.

This house is located on a small acreage on the outskirts of Pallet Town. On the front porch sits Bear's mother, a woman in her forties of average build with emerald green eyes and raven hair, his younger brother, Ethan, a blond haired blue eyed young man with a more muscular build and slightly taller than Bear, and an old man with gray hair that could only be Prof. Oak.  
Dismounting from Blaze, Bear slowly walks up the steps.

I had been four years since he had been home. The feeling of past memories was almost too overwhelming. "Hi everyone..." was all Bear could utter.  
"Hello Bear, I wish you would have called ahead. If it wasn't for Prof. Oak, I would have never known you were coming."

"Shelly's right Bear" scolded Oak, "you did the same thing when you left on your journey."

"I'm sorry for not calling ahead, but I was just too excited about Elm's discovery." Bear forced out apologetically. Pulling the eggs one by one from his bag, Bear hands the blue and silver egg to Oak, who nearly drops it from astonishment. "That's the one from Cianwood City, and this beauty is from Ecruteak City," Bear nods to the gold flamed egg he's holding.

"They are quite remarkable, and I think I have decided just what to do with them, says Oak. "Elm's research has proven that Pokémon eggs hatch faster with human interaction. Bear, will you journey with your brother until these eggs hatch? You get to carry one and Ethan gets the other. But first, I think Ethan should introduce you to his starter Pokémon." The look of confusion on Bear's face allowed Oak to correct his mistake. "It's been a while since you attended the trainer's school. We start the children at twelve, like you did, only they have four years of nurturing and caring for their Pokémon before they are allowed to go on their journey. This cuts down on the number of new trainers abandoning their Pokémon." Satisfied with the answer Bear turns to his brother,"Alright lets she your friend."

Pulling out a shiny new Pokéball Ethan shouts,"Come on out, Torrent." Out pops a happy looking Squirtle. Only this Squirtle is a baby blue and has a green shell. "So, looks like baby brother has himself a 'shiny' Squirtle," says Bear with mild amusement. "Kinda following in my footsteps aren't we?"

"How did I know you were going to say something stupid like that? Ever since you won the championship I've always wanted to be like my big brother, but everyone always said that I was following in your footsteps when my journey has yet to begin," says Ethan almost complaining.

"Okay Mr. Smartass, I'll let you pick what egg you want to hatch," Bear challenges.  
"I want to battle, my Torrent against your Blaze, winner gets first pick... and I don't want you going easy on me."  
"I have a better idea, I'll use one of my other Pokémon as to keep it a little more fair. Go Rhyhorn!" Rhyhorn is a stocky slate colored Pokémon on all fours with a horn on its short snout. Noticing Ethan and Blaze's obvious disappointment Bear followed up with "Maybe you can battle Blaze later when he isn't tired from a long flight." Blaze seemed to approve of this idea by laying down near the porch and promptly falling asleep.

Walking about twenty-five yards from where his brother stood, Bear and his Ryhorn stop. "Your move Baby bro." Bear says jokingly.

"Alright Torrent, start off with a Bubble attack!" shouts Ethan, followed by a barrage of bubbles flying toward Rhyhorn.

"Rhyhorn, Protect followed by Thunderbolt!" the bubbles pop about three feet in front of Rhyhorn and a bolt of lightning shoots from Rhyhorn's horn and hits Torrent throwing the small Pokémon back and causing him to faint.

"That was so unfair," exclaimed the boys' mother. "Mom, I was preparing him for the battles ahead, even if he faced Blaze he wouldn't have won."  
"Still this was your brother's first battle with Torrent, you could have humored..."  
"It's okay, Mom," interrupts Ethan, "The real issue is to make sure Torrent is alright and get him healed."  
"That's very mature of you," says Prof. Oak, "But I think Ethan should take the blue and silver egg, and Bear should take the orange and gold egg. Ethan has a strong connection already with his Squirtle and Bear obviously has a strong connection with his Charizard. The pattern on each egg represents Water and Fire, and that is how I made my decision."

"Alright let's just spend the rest of the day preparing for our journey tomorrow, I'll help you pack." said Bear grabbing Ethan by the sleeve and putting a Max Potion in his hand, "But use this on your Squirtle."

"Just wait until Dad get home he's going to love hearing about how you kicked my butt in my first battle," chuckled Ethan.


	2. Route 1

Chapter 2  
Route 1

Morning came to find Bear waking up early on the floor in his old room. His mother had left it the way he had even after eight years, and he doesn't quite fit into his bed anymore. Looking at the clock on his desk, 6:30AM. "I haven't been up this early in quite a while," thought Bear. Throwing on clothes and grabbing his belt with his four pokeballs on it, Bear quietly opens up his door and sneaks downstairs to get some breakfast. Upon reaching the kitchen, Bear sees his brother sitting at the table.

"Morning squirt...Sorry about owning your Squirtle yesterday. I though they'd have taught you something in that school you went to"

"Morning fucktard...And they did, but they forgot to mention that Rhyhorn can use electric attacks." Ethan said bitterly "Where did your Rhyhorn learn thunderbolt anyway?"

"I probably shouldn't tell you this," said Bear sitting down at the table across from his brother "But I learned this from Brock, he has a Rhydon that can use thunderbolt and thunder."

Bear watched as the dark shadow of defeat flushed his baby brother's face. "How am I supposed to beat the first gym of the Indigo League if he's got such powerful pokemon?" squalled Ethan.

"He only uses a specific Geodude and Onix for gym battles, but, like most gym leaders, he'll accept challengers who have already defeated his gym and battle with his stronger pokemon. By the way when is this fancy graduation of yours?"

"It's at eight, so we should probably get mom, dad, and the girls up and get ready to head out to Oak's lab."

* * *

Later at Oak's Lab, Ethan stood on the stage with eleven other trainers. Six boys and six girls all starting the journey together. One by one they each got a pokedex, a map, and a set of ten empty pokeballs to use on their journey. After the ceremony the parents wished their children luck and waved them off into the world.

"Alright bro lets head off towards your first gym." said Bear.

"Where do we go first?"asked Ethan.

"Let's go to Route 1 to Viridian City and see if we can't get you a couple more pokemon along the way!" Bear said proudly. Setting off only to get about a quarter mile before something stopped the brothers.

"Not so fast!" called out a very confident voice. "I want to challenge the washed up champ to prove how strong I am!"

Turning around Bear and Ethan saw a boy with shaggy red hair, wearing an overly large backpack with his tan shorts and blue shirt.

"I usually accept all challengers, but I'm afraid ill just wipe the floor with you and no one wants to see that." Bear exclaimed a tad irritated.

"You're just scared you'll lose to a beginner trainer. Quit being a wuss and accept my challenge!" the voice nagged again.

"Don't pay Brice any attention, he's just a know-it-all asshole who thinks he's the best there is." mumbled Ethan so only Bear could hear him.

"That's okay my pokemon and I will put him in his place." whispered Bear.

"Alright I accept your challenge, and I'm even going to let you randomly pick a pokeball and I will battle with that pokemon." Bear said to Brice taking five pokeballs off of his belt.

"I pick this one." Price said pointing to the third ball.

"Okay you asked for it... come on out Umbreon." Bear said with a grin."And ill be fighting your Charmander is that correct Brice?"

"Yeah thats correct, now come on out Charmander!"  
in a flash of light a small orange lizard with big green eyes and an orange and yellow flame on the tip of it's tail is standing ready for battle opposite the black doglike Pokémon with yellow eyes and light blue rings on its head, ears, and tail.

"I'll allow you to make the first move since you are the challenger, Brice."

"Okay then Charmander use Scratch."  
As Charmander runs in to scratch Umbreon, Bear commands "Dodge and follow up with Sand Attack." As commanded Umbreon dodged to the left and kicked up dirt at Charmander, hitting it right in the face blurring it's vision.  
"Now while Charmander's blinded, hit it with a Shadow Ball." On command Umbreon loosed a ball of purple and black energy knocking Charmander out.

"I told you it would be a loss Brice, now go back to Oak's and get your Charmander healed. And if you wanted a decent battle you should have challenged Ethan and actually had a battle that didn't last one futile attempt to use an attack that didn't land." Bear scolded.

"I didn't want to fight your stupid Umbreon anyway I wanted to fight your Charizard, but I followed the conditions..." Brice whined before being cut off by Ethan."You wanted your Charmander to fight Blaze? Are you insane, Blaze would have literally flown circles around your Charmander while lobbing fire attacks at it."Ethan said with disbelief.

"If it's a fight you want next time I run into you drips I'll beat the both of you" Brice said with rage before stomping off.

"Now that that's over lets go find you some more pokemon," Bear directed at Ethan.

As the brothers walked down the lightly warn path of Route 1, they pass the other graduates in heated battles with the purple mouse Rattata, Pidgey, the small brown bird pokemon, and Spearow, another tiny brown bird pokemon. The tall green grass rustling in the breeze with a few trees poking up here and there. Pidgey sitting too close to the path take off one by one only to land a few hundred yards away in the grass.

"How am I supposed to catch a pokemon if they run away and I can't find them," Ethan complained.

"Just wait a little bit longer, with all the trainers coming through today they're just spooky is all." Bear said to calm his brother, "Besides I know a few secret spots where we're going to catch you a couple very special pokemon."

As the day progressed, the brothers walked north until they were under the cover of a sparse forest at the foot of a small mountain. Upon coming to a clearing the duo stopped for a quick lunch followed by a quick training exercise with Ethan's Squirtle.

"Now that lunch is over I'm going to try to teach you something useful for future battles,"Bear said with a smirk. "Alright baby bro, I want you to take out your pokedex and place Torrent's pokeball on the slide out tray. As they probably taught you, this is how you look at what moves your pokemon knows and what level it is. But, what they probably didn't tell you is that you can also see what moves your pokemon are capable of learning. Now for a Squirtle, the next non water type move that would be easy to learn is Ice Beam. Now I'm going to introduce you to one of my newest pokemon."

In a ray of light a blue four legged Pokémon appeared.

"This is Glaceon, Eevee's ice evolution. I call her Frost."

"Can I call time-out real quick? You're going too fast like you always do Bear."

"Sorry baby bro, you know that's my weakness. I'm always thinking faster than I can speak. So, what is it you don't understand?"

"I hate to be a bother, but why would Ice Beam be a critical move for Torrent to learn?" asked Ethan quizzically.

"As they probably taught you, type advantage is important. You're going to need it to easily capture this Pokémon I'm taking you to. Also you're going to need an advantage over trainers who chose Bulbasaur as their starter," Bear quickly explained.

* * *

The hours passed and soon it began to get dark. Teaching Torrent Ice Beam was a big task that required both the Pokémon and trainers to rest multiple times. Eventually ending up with Torrent learning the move. Setting up camp for the night went quickly with two people.

"This is a beautiful night, and camp goes faster with a full team of Pokémon and two people to set up," laughed Bear recalling his first night,"This is much better than my first night. I spent all day trying to catch a Pidgey, of course your stubborn brother wanted the biggest and strongest one. It took me a day and a half to catch one Pokémon. And it rained on top of it."

After a moment of silence Ethan spoke,"Yea, I remember that night well, you left and I had my own room at. But I missed you even though I never wanted to admit it"

"I missed you too bud, and I think this co-op journey will make up for lost time,"Bear smiled, "Now, lets eat and get some sleep, you've got a big battle tomorrow."

* * *

Early in the morning, Bear awakes to the sound of fluttering and an Ice Beam attack being launched followed by the unmistakeable *ping* of a pokeball catching a Pokémon.

"Ethan must be training early and he must have caught a Pidgey," Bear thought to himself.  
Smiling, Bear rolls over and goes back to sleep. Only to be woken a short while later by an angry female voice.

"I don't want to battle a worthless punk like you I want to know where Bear is so I can defeat him," shouts the unknown female.

"No, I'm not getting passed up. You should be battling people with your own skill. Just because you were the top of the class doesn't mean Bear won't wipe the floor with you. And seriously Ivy, you expect to fight his Charizard with the Bulbasaur you chose? You are close to suicidal at this point."

Bear smiles as he realizes how grown up his brother is.

"Fine, I'll just defeat you and have Pokémon left to challenge your brother. Your little Squirtle won't stand a chance against my Ivysaur."

Bear quickly scrambles out of his tent in time to slow the battle.  
"Alright now that I'm up, I'll be the referee. Ivy how may Pokémon do you have?"

"I have three," Ivy said smugly, "I bet you haven't caught anything!"

"I have two Pokémon," Ethan says a tinge of emotion in his voice.

"So do we want a one-on-one with two Pokémon, or just a one-on-one single Pokémon? Ivy as the challenger you can decide."

"I want a single Pokémon battle. Then I'm coming after you!" screams Ivy.

"Alright choose your Pokémon."

"I'm choosing Torrent," says Ethan with more reassurance in his voice.

"Alright then I'm going to destroy you quickly with Ivysaur," Ivy said even more smugly than before.

In a glow of white light a green four legged dinosaur looking creature with a pink flower on it's back appears.

"Before we begin I must commend you on working with your Ivysaur to make it evolve so quickly after starting your journey."

"That's because my Ivysaur is much better than your Charizard and your brother's puny Squirtle," gloated Ivy.

"Okay, lets get this battle over with. Ethan call the coin flip in the air."

"Tails."

"Alright and it's heads, Ivy, you make the first move."

"Ivysaur use vinewhip!"  
As commanded Ivysaur loosed two vines from it's back and launched them towards Torrent.

"Torrent dodge and then use Ice Beam aimed at Ivysaur's feet."  
Torrent jumped to the right missing the vines by inches and then looses a pale blue beam of light at Ivysaur's feet.

"Quick Ivysaur jump and dodge it."  
Ivysaur uses it's vines to launch itself about ten feet in the air, but the Ice Beam has accomplished what it was intended to do. A sheet of ice now cover's Ivysaur's half of the field and the strategic genius of Ethan is now shown. But to Bear it is somewhat familiar. As Ivysaur lands, it slips on the ice and cannot get a stable footing to launch attacks accurately.

"Alright Torrent, launch repeated Ice Beams at Ivysaur. And Ivy before you start running your mouth about how my Pokémon are weak and my brother's Pokémon are weak, remember I have learned so much about Pokémon training by watching him and listening to his advice." Ethan said triumphantly.

The first five Ice Beams hit dead on causing Ivysaur to faint, but this also tired out Torrent and it collapsed shortly after the battle was decided.

"You cheated somehow. How did your Squirtle learn Ice Beam?" shrieked Ivy.

"Like I said I learned it from Bear. Or rather his Glaceon taught my Squirtle. While you were out grinding your Pokémon for sheer force I was training mine with intelligence. That is how I caught my Pidgeotto. I'll gladly heal your Ivysaur so you can battle Bear now." chimed Ethan with a smirk.

"I'll pass on that, but next time we meet I'm going to defeat both of you." Ivy snarled as she stormed off.

A few minutes passed before the rush of winning his first battle left Ethan. Once the moment had passed Bear healed Torrent, and set to work tearing down their campsite.

"That made for an Interesting morning, didn't it," Bear calmly said.

"Yea it did. I didn't want to wake you, but it looks like that didn't happen," Ethan said solemnly.

"I'm proud of you, asserting yourself like that and even catching another Pokémon while your big brother slept. But for now let's get packed up and head off for the lake it should just be a couple hours more of walking."


	3. The Lake

Chapter 3  
The Lake

The rolling plains of Route 1 slowly became more wooded as the brothers neared the eastern mountains, the great divide between Johto and Kanto, and home to Victory Road, the Indigo Plateau, and Mt. Silver. They keep walking until they come to what seems to be the thickest part of the forest.

"Bro, we have literally been walking for hours. Where's this magical lake you keep talking about?" Ethan whined.

"It should be another mile," Bear said, a tinge of uncertainty in his voice.  
"I had hoped I could introduce you to this Pokémon at a better time, but she might be the only way to find this lake, but you can't tell anyone what I'm about to show you."

"Promise," says Ethan.

Reaching for his belt, Bear grabs a Pokéball almost as worn as Blaze's. "Come on out, Adalinda."

In a flash of white light a magenta serpentine dragon appears setting about five feet tall. It has a golden ball under it's chin, two golden balls on it's tail, and wing like horns on it's head. This Pokémon is a very rare shiny Dragonair.

"This is Adalinda, she's very special to me and very very rare, and I've know her just about as long as Blaze."

"She's beautiful," Ethan proclaimed. "But why is she a secret? Or is the Lake the secret?"

Adalinda squealed with joy at the complement, and the excitement of being out of her ball.

"Adalinda, can you help us find the lake?" Bear asked petting her nose.

Another squeal of joy was loosed and then Adalinda flew into the air.  
"Looks like were flying. Ethan since you don't have a Pokémon big enough to fly on you can borrow Blaze. Come on out Blaze."

In a flash of light Blaze was standing next to Bear.

"Blaze, you behave and take Ethan for his first flight. Take it easy so you don't drop him. Also listen to him until we land."

Blaze roared in protest, but somehow understood the importance and recognized the area they were in. And somehow he knew.

The Lake.

"I won't be able to talk to you while flying, so trust your judgment as a trainer, and trust Blaze he has quite a few miles on him. Also he may enjoy another rider instead of hauling my fat ass around," Bear chuckled.

"Adalinda, come on down so we can go to the lake!" Bear shouted.

On command the Pokémon landed just long enough for Bear to jump on her back. Then it was off into the air.

"Come on Blaze, I s'pose we better catch up," Ethan said with a touch of sarcasm.

Blaze took off faster than Ethan had expected. Once they were in the air he could see for miles. "This view is amazing," Ethan thought to himself. Mountains in the east, forest below for miles, and in the distant west the grasslands where this journey had all started. The emotion and awe swelled within Ethan's chest, the feeling of the cool air on his face, the power of Blaze's wings with each flap pulsing through his legs. It was almost a magical feeling of being free like the flying Pokémon. It was at this moment that Ethan pledged to evolve his Pidgeotto soon to be able to fly.

The brothers landed about 200 yards from the lake on the other side of the treeline. The flight to the lake only took about ten minutes. The landing was rougher than Ethan had expected, due to Blaze being so steady in flight.

"Is the landing always that rough?" asked Ethan.

"It was worse, I fell off on the first landing and broke my left arm. That's why I captured and trained a Ponyta. It made travel faster, and effectively salvaged my journey to the Indigo League. I didn't fly again until I got to Johto and Falkner worked with me," Bear said. "Blaze and I actually enjoy it now. We are connected when we fly and it's kinda relaxing."

"So I have some more questions. How did you convince Falkner to train you and do you have a friendship with all of the gym leaders you have met? Also why are we at the lake?" Ethan asked eagerly.

"Well I guess I owe you a couple explanations. First, as you know, Falkner is the Gym Leader in Violet City. He exclusively uses flying type Pokémon. I battled him with Blaze, and he could tell we weren't as connected as a trainer with a flying type Pokémon should be. He asked if I had ever flown on Blaze, I told him about our accident and I trained with him for well over a month before I moved on," Bear reminisced. " Second I have always taken time to get to know the Gym Leader after I have obtained the badges. They always seem to have great information about training Pokémon and where to find certain Pokémon. As for the lake we might as well walk there, flying in would spook the wild Pokémon. Okay guys come on back." A red light flashed and Blaze and Adalinda returned to their Pokéballs.

Walking up to the banks of the crystal clear lake with a deep blue color. The afternoon sun dancing on the still water making it look like glass.

"I don't see anything here Bear," Ethan said.

"Get your Pokémon ready you're in for a tough battle," Bear said picking up a rock. Calmly Bear threw the rock. It whizzed through the air and broke the silence with a plop.

Nothing happened...

Ethan shot Bear a confused look.

"It's up to you now bro, use what they taught you at that fancy beginners school. And don't forget to log your Pokémon in your Pokédex." Bear said walking back through the bushes lining the lake.  
If almost on cue, a small blue serpent looking Pokémon surfaced and let out a squeal. It had white fins where it's ears should be and big eyes. Thinking back to what his brother had said Ethan pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon.

Pokédex entry:  
_'''__Dratini, the Dragon Pokémon. Dratini sheds its skin as it grows, often doing so while hidden behind large powerful waterfalls. It is called the "Mirage Pokémon" because so few have seen it.'''_

Ethan thought to himself, "It all makes sense now, a dragon type Pokémon as rare as this and my brother some how knew where to find it. He must want me to have a great team."

"Come on out Torrent!"

Ethan's Squirtle was ready for action.

"Alright, lets make this quick with Ice Beam."

Two hundred yards away, Bear sat on a long waiting patiently. Looking down at his pack he slowly unzipped it and pulled out the bright orange and gold egg. "I wonder what you are?" he thought to himself. Slowly reaching down he pulls out Blaze's Pokéball and lets the Pokémon out. The pair sat in silence for a moment reminiscing.

Bear soon spoke softly. "You remember how we found this place, old friend?" The Charizard let out a low grumble and laid his head on Bear's lap. "Careful bud, don't make me drop this egg, Oak would have our hides if anything happened to this little beauty." Blaze shot a plume of smoke out of his nostrils to signify his dissatisfaction with the entire situation. "Easy, I'll put the egg away. Do you remember when we found this place? We were so lost." Bear chuckled, putting the egg back in his backpack.

"Of course you do," said Bear petting his Charizards scaly head," It was cold and rainy. You, me, and Pidgeot. I caught every Pokémon we came across. We barely got the tent up, and if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have had any way to keep warm. Just a boy and his Charmander, sounds like a storybook. We were so young then...you were still a Charmander, Pidgeot still a Pidgey, a newly evolved Beedrill and Butterfree, and Ratatta. Then then next day we crawled out of the tent, and there was a pretty rainbow. And for whatever reason we followed the rainbow to that lake and found Adalinda, just a small injured Dratini at the time. It probably wasn't fair that we caught her without battling but that was the only way I knew to get her to a Pokécenter."  
With that last sentence Blaze started puffing smoke rings.  
"Remember how scared we were when that Dragonite came out of the water, and you tried to battle it?"  
Another low growl was let loose as Blaze recalled on his most embarrassing battle.  
"You evolved into Charmeleon just in time to get your butt kicked. Then when I explained to the Dragonite how we were going to help her young Dratini, that was the first time I flew and I loved it. That's when I decided that some day I wanted to fly with you."  
Blaze growled happily.  
"And I know you were in your Pokéball, but the look on Nurse Joy's face when I landed with that Dragonite was priceless.

"Speaking of Dratini, I wonder how Ethan's doing? And I wonder how that Dragonite is doing."

As if almost on cue, a yellow Pokémon flew into the clearing. Landing in front of Bear it roared loudly. At seven feet tall, this is a very intimidating Pokémon. Bear looked up slowly, "Hello Dragonite, it's been a while." Blaze stood up ready for action. "Would you like to battle us again after all these years?"  
Dragonite roared happily, after realizing who this trespasser was.

"I promise not to hurt you too bad, we know you need to protect the young Dratini in this area. And we will allow you the first move."

Dragonite roared again, and let loose a blue flame.  
"Alright Blaze that's Dragon Rage, counter with a Flamethrower attack."  
Blaze roared and an orange jet of flame shot out of his mouth and collided with the Dragon Rage with a bang sending the Pidgey in the trees skyward in fear.

"Alright, now go skyward and hit it with Dragon Tail." Blaze shot into the air and came down slamming Dragonite with it's tail. Dragonite countered by grabbing Blaze's tail and throwing it into a nearby tree, snapping the small tree in half. Blaze stood up and shot a jet of flame at Dragonite and then slammed into it with all his force.

It was Dragonite's turn to go skyward and attempt a Dragon Tail attack.  
"Blaze side step and when it lands use Thunder Punch."  
As commanded Blaze dodged the attack that left Dragonite shaken and the punched the larger dragon in the chest.

"Dragonite are you okay to continue or do you want to forfeit?"

Dragonite stood up and bowed it's head in defeat, and shook hands with the much smaller Charizard.

"Come here and let me heal you both," said Bear as he pulled super potions from his pack. Reaching to his belt, "There is also someone else I want you to see." In a flash of light Adalinda came out of her Pokéball and sqeeled with joy. Upon seeing her the Dragonite burst into tears, and hugged her.  
"I've taken very good care of her, and I promise we'll be back to visit. Also you can come visit us near New Bark Town. We shouldn't be to hard to find," Bear laughed.

Dragonite took back to the sky at the same time Ethan walked into the clearing.

"What was the commotion about?" Ethan asked.

"Nothing much just ran into an old friend.

"It wouldn't have been that Dragonite that flew over when I was battling the Dratini was it?"

"Maybe," Bear said with a grin. "But first lets fly back to Viridian City and go on the the Viridian Forrest. You get Blaze and I'll take Adalinda again."


	4. Viridian City Brawl

**Chapter 4**

**Viridian City Brawl**

When the brothers got to Viridian City it was almost dark. Looking to the west was a beautiful sunset, and in the sky it back lit the now dark forest. It was another almost magical experience for the both of them. The brothers landed near a white building with a red roof.

"As you know, this is a Pokécenter. It is where you heal your injured Pokémon, and they offer services to trainers such as food and bedding. Viridian City's Pokécenter also has a battle field, due to it being a stop for new trainers," Bear explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if we get battle offers from more of the new trainers."

The brothers walk through the sliding glass doors into a large white waiting room with benches positioned along the walls, on one of the walls is a video phone bank. "Ethan, go give Mom and Dad a call and let them know we are in Viridian City. I'll take your Pokémon to the counter for you."

Ethan walked over to a call booth as Bear carried the Pokéballs to the counter. Behind the counter a red haired woman with blue eyes. Se was wearing a white nurse's outfit and a white hat with a red cross on it. Beside her was a short pink egg-shaped Pokémon named Chansey.

"Excuse me, Nurse Joy, can you heal these Pokémon for me please?" Bear asked.

"Sure thing, but you should know that you are only allowed to carry six Pokémon, and you don't seem to be a new trainer and you should know better." Nurse joy scolded.

"Nurse Joy, I know better some of those are my brother's. He's calling home to let them know we got here safely. Just page me when our partners are healed up. Just put 'Bear' on them." smirked Bear as he walked over to the phone booth his brother was sitting at.

"... and that's when we flew back to Viridian City!" Ethan exclaimed.  
"I thought I told you not to tell anyone." Bear chuckled.

Ethan went silent and then uttered a quiet "I'm sorry."

"Bear! You shouldn't tease your brother like that," the boy's mother said, "I was the one that told you the story of that secret place and you were stubborn enough to find it. I didn't hear from you for a week and a half!"

"It's alright Mom, Ethan's doing good as a trainer. We'll let you know when we get to Pewter City."

"Okay, bye boys be safe." their mother said as she waved goodbye.

"That was heart wrenching." Ethan said, "Not knowing when I'd actually see Mom and Dad or the girls again."

"It's best you either learn to make time and call home often, or learn to adjust to being far from family and find friends to travel with." Bear said solemnly.

"But, for now, lets go get something to eat."

As the brother's were finishing up a late supper in the cafeteria, a tall young man wearing a light blue collared shirt walks up to the table.

"I heard the ex-champion flew in to town and I had to come over to challenge him. However, I think it can wait a while while I grab something to eat." the stranger said.

Bear looked up and smiled a bit. "Go get your food and then I'll stomp you like I did all those years ago."

"Alright but let me get a plate and sit down," the stranger said walking off.

It was then that Ethan knew who this stranger was. Blue. Oak's grandson, Blue. The Viridian City Gym leader, Blue.

"Did you seriously just talk to a Gym Leader like that? Not only a Gym Leader but your proclaimed idol?" Ethan whispered in shock.

"Yea, I did, who do you think I broke my arm flying with. I met with him in Celadon City at a Pokémon expo when that happened. Also, I spent almost the last month before the Indigo League training with Red, and Blue on occasion. He always had to be back to take challengers." Bear said back.

"Wow, you know everyone."

"Almost everyone."

Blue came back and sat down. He sat and talked to Bear while Ethan sat by amazed. They talked about Johto, and all the new Pokémon that they had caught. Bear told Blue that he would let him know when he would be back to his ranch so Blue could stop by and see the Pokémon.

"Well that sounds like a great idea. How about a battle now?" Blue asked.

"I'll have to rain-check the battle with you. There is a certain trainer here that I know wants to battle me more than you." Bear said looking up to see Brice at a table. "There is also a girl that wants to battle too." Noticing Ivy sitting nearby. "It would be wonderful if you were a ref and gave those trainers pointers on where they went wrong."

Blue smirked, "Grandpa told me about the graduation. Brice got it handed to him, also the class I substituted on grass Pokémon care Ivy was a tad arrogant."

"It would be much appreciated if you would." Ethan stammered after being quiet most of the meal. "I want to beat Brice, I've already beat Ivy. Maybe it could be a double battle?"

"He is your brother, Bear, soft spoken and full of good ideas," Blue said in amazement.

"Ethan, lets give Gold a call and see if we can get you three loaner Pokémon in case this is a twelve on twelve double." Bear said smiling. "Blue go get the victims."

"As you wish." Blue said walking off.

After picking up their Pokémon from Nurse Joy and the transfer center, the brothers made their way to the battle field. Walking down a long hallway, the brothers entered a small arena. It was then that Ethan got nervous. Sitting in the front row were the boy's parents, Professor Oak, and another young man with a Pikachu sitting on his shoulder.

"Red's here," Ethan said.

"Does that surprise you. He's here scouting you to see if he'd like to support you at the League." Bear said.

Blue smiled at the brothers as the challengers, Brice and Ivy, walked onto the field. Turning around he announced to the crowd on the seating. "Today we have a special battle, three graduates from the Pokémon academy in Pallet town battling in a double battle. Each trainer gets to choose three Pokémon. The team who runs out of Pokémon first loses. In the red corner we have Brice and Ivy and in the green corner we have brothers Ethan and Bear. As you may recall Bear is a former Indigo League champion. But he promises to go easy on the grads." This got a surge of brief laughter. "Alright here we go challengers bring out your first Pokémon.

"Go Charmeleon!"  
"Go Ivysaur!"

Brice and Ivy both shout at the same time. The evolved form of Charmander, Charmeleon is a dark orange, standing taller than Charmander. It has sharp teeth and sharp claws.

"Totodile come on out!"  
"Pigeotto you come out too!"  
Bear and Ethan shout. Totodile is a small blue alligator Pokémon.

"It looks like Bear has brought us a special Pokémon from the Johto Region." Blue tells the audience.

"Alright Totodile, jump on Pigotto's back."  
The little blue Pokémon follows orders, and climbs on Pigeotto's back.

"Pigeotto take off. Into the air."  
The bird took off with a little strain from the extra weight.

"Charmeleon, pelt them with ember!"  
"Ivysaur, use razorleaf!"

A shower of leaves intersected with the barrage of flames, causing the attacks to cancel out.

"You guys are going to have to work together better." Bear said. "Totodile Ice Beam!"

The Ice Beam hits the ground covering it in a sheet of ice.

"Okay Pigeotto use gust!" Ethan shouted. The bird Pokémon started flapping it's wings frantically, using its gust attack. This accidentally dumps Totodile off of it's back sending the Pokémon spiraling for the gound.

"Totodile hit the ground with watergun to slow down." A blast of water shoots out of his mouth and slows his decent.

"Ivysaur hit Totodile with vine whip."  
Vines shoot out and slam Totodile to the ground. The small blue Pokémon feinted.

"Looks like you're going to have to do better." Ivy sneered.  
"Im just warming up," Bear exclaimed.  
"Let's go Ryhorn, flamethrower."

Out of its ball, Ryhorn lets loose a blast of flame melting the ice and hitting Ivysaur sqare on causing it to feint. "Your turn." Bear laughed.

"Okay Mankey, go!" Ivy shouted. Flashing out of it's Pokéball stood a Pokémon with a round white body, pointed ears, a tail, and long arms and legs.

"Charmeleon hit Pigeotto again with ember." Brice ordered.

"Okay Pigeotto, dodge and hit Mankey with wing attack!" Ethan retaliated. It's wings glowed white as it dive bombed Mankey, hitting it with force. Mankey sustained serious damage, but did not feint.  
"One more time hit Pigeotto with ember, Charmeleon!" Brice shouted. Slightly dazed from the attack, Pigeotto was hit broadside with the attack, and sustained serious damage as well.  
"Pigeotto get back up!" Ethan cried, but it was too weak to fly.

It was Bear's time to attack, "Ryhorn one more time, Flamethrower!" Flame engulfed both Mankey and Charmeleon. Causing minimal damage to Charmeleon, and causing Mankey to feint.

"Ivy has ony one Pokémon left, Bear has two, and Brice and Ethan both have three Pokémon!" Blue announced to the audience.

"Pikachu, go! Use thundershock on the field!" Ivy cries, throwing out her last Pokémon. The short yellow electric mouse Pokémon smiles and shoots lightning bolts across the field.

"You should have known of Ryhorn's ability, Lightining Rod. It causes Electric attack to only hit Ryhorn." Bear smirked.

"Yes but it was just a distraction for me to do this!" Brice laughed, "Charmeleon Metal Claw!" Charmeleon ran up to Ryhorn claws glowing a silver color and slashed the rock type Pokémon with a super effective move. Ryhorn feinted and Charmeleon turned on Pigeotto, still too tired to fly. Pigeotto too feinted.

"Looks like a double knockout!" Blue announced.

"Okay I know who you want to battle, Blaze come on out!" Bear shouted.  
"Torrent, go!" Ethan shouted as well.

"I'm not sure on the strategy, but Squirtle and Charizard are both weak to electric attacks!" Blue once again commented.

"Charmeleon return! Go Pikachu!" Brice said.

"Two Pikachu on the field makes for a double threat!" Blue exclaimed.

"Blaze use Dig!" Bear shouted.

Blaze complied and burrowed underground. Both opponents loosed a barrage of Thundershock, and Torrent feinted.

"Ethan this is your last Pokémon choose wisely." Bear told his brother, "Use one of mine, use Onix."

"No, I'm using my own Pokémon. Go Dratini!"

Ethan threw his last Pokéball out. The arena went quiet, Blue was speachless. Blaze followed through with his dig attack and caused Brice's Pikachu to feint by hitting it from underground. Brice threw out his last Pokémon a small pink rabbit looking Pokémon with a horn on it's head.  
"Nidoran, come on out!"  
"Blaze to the air out of Pikachu's reach!" Bear commanded. "It's all you, bro."  
"Dratini, Dragon Rage!" The small blue serpent let a stream of blue flame out of its mouth, hitting Pikachu, causing serious damage.  
Ivy, still stunned by Dratini couldn't move. Brice then acted, "Nidoran, Double Kick!" The pink Pokémon charged Dratini, ready to use it's attack.

"Blaze, Seismic Toss on Nidoran!"  
Blaze swooped down picking up the small Pokémon. Then from in the air dive bombed Pikachu, hurling Nidoran at his new target. Pikachu couldn't move fast enough and the two Pokémon collided causing both to feint. Blaze then swooped back into the air.

"In a stunning performance, Bear's Charizard, Blaze, has knocked out two Pokémon in one shot." Blue stammered obviously getting his words back. "And it is quite a treat to see a Dratini around here, as you all know in the Kanto region, Dratini is very rare."

"Charmeleon, your my last hope," Brice said throwing his Pokéball back out. "Your Dratini is going down, then I'm coming for your Charizard!"

"Fine, Ill stay out of it." Bear calmly said, having confidence in his brother.  
Ethan could feel the support and it made him even stronger not worrying about the battle. "Dratini, use Wrap!"

Dratini quickly slithered over to Charmeleon and tried to wrap around the Pokémon. Charmeleon countered with a barrage of Ember and Metal Claw attacks, causing Ethan's new Pokémon to feint.

"What a weak Pokémon, just because it's a Dragon type doesn' t mean anything. You are a weak trainer, and I'm better than you!" Brice taunted.

Bear then turned to his brother, tossed him Blaze's Pokéball and said, "I'm going to go to bed, finish this up. Blaze listen to Ethan and trust his judgement."

Ivy then piped up, "He's forfeiting, that means we win!"  
Blue looked at Bear expecting an answer. "Blue, you know the right place for the battle is with these new trainers, not a veteran like me. Blaze may be a higher level than Charmeleon, but level doesn't mean shit if the trainer can't handle the Pokémon."

Brice then complained, "I wanted to fight you Bear, defeat you and your loser Charizard."

"Brice, if you defeat Ethan I will battle you tomorrow, if not, then you shall wait longer. If you wish, find me when your Charmeleon evolves. It will be a real match then. Until then goodnight." Bear said walking off of the field and out of the arena.

"The ex-champion has spoken," Blue said. "The match will now continue. Brice your move first."

"Okay Charmeleon, Ember one more time." Another barrage of flame was volleyed at Blaze, missing entirely.

"Blaze, this is no fun. Land and take this punk head on!" Ethan shouted  
Blaze roared with joy and promptly landed with a solid thump. "Brice, try that again." Yet another volley of fire was launched at Blaze. It was batted away with one flap of his wings.

"Brice one more free shot." Ethan taunted.

"Fine Metal Claw one more time." Charmeleon charged Blaze, claws out.

"Blaze, grapple it!" Ethan commanded. Blaze complied grabbing both of Charmeleon's arms. "Now, Dragon Breath!" Blaze smiled and roared loudly and Charmeleon's face turned to terror as a bright green flame formed and shot at the smaller Pokémon only a foot away. Charmeleon fainted, and the match was over.

"That's not fair somehow you cheated!" Ivy called out. Brice just stood in awe at the power of Blaze and slowly reached for his belt and recalled his injured companion.

"That was one spectacular battle and Ethan battled brilliantly with his brother's Charizard." Blue exclaimed while the audience applauded. "Now, I advise all trainers to get some rest and to ask Nurse Joy to heal their Pokémon."

Professor Oak stood up and walked onto the field next to Blue. "I have something I'd like to say. To all the new trainers here, I see most of you, let this be a lesson to know the limits of your Pokémon and don't be so arrogant as to challenge a trainer you will most likely lose to, and needlessly injure your Pokémon. Thank you all for coming out tonight, and good night!"

As the arena cleared, Ethan's parents approached him. "We are so proud of you," his father said. "Thank you, and I miss you both so much. I also hope you enjoyed the battle." Ethan said with a smile. "We did and I see Bear is teaching you well. Remember, we love you, and good luck. Let us know when you get to Pewter City." His mother said. Professor Oak then approached him "I assume the eggs are doing well?"  
"They are," Ethan replied with a smile.  
"Good, let me know when they hatch. And congrats on another win. Now go get some rest, you have a long journey ahead of you."

Returning to the room, Ethan saw Bear sitting on his bed holding the mysterious egg left in his care. Only something was strange about the egg, it was shaking every once in a while. "It must be close to hatching," Ethan observed. "You're right there, bud. You should check your egg to see if it's close too." Ethan already new it would be, after all, his brother must have had an idea something like this was happening or he wouldn't have been so eager to leave a battle. Unzipping his bag, Ethan saw the cool blue and silver egg shake just a little. "Here's Blaze's ball back, he battled fabulously." Ethan said with a smile. "I'm glad we got to put both Brice and Ivy in their place this time."  
Bear looked up, smiled, and then looked back down if almost ashamed of his brother's joy. "You realize I'm not always going to be here to help, just try to learn all I have to teach, but you need to carve your own path, don't just follow mine." Ethan's smile faded a bit. "Some day you're going to have to face a lot tougher trainers than Brice and Ivy, they still have growing to do. You're first gym is going to be Brock's. He's a seasoned gym leader, and it's not going to be easy."

"I know, bro. It's just, I just got you back into my life after six years of you being gone and grown up. I've missed us. All the crazy stuff we used to do as kids. The fights. All of it."

Bear looked up at his brother, "I've missed it too, but we have a responsibility given to us by Prof. Oak. Once we complete this I'll come back and travel with you. But you have a big day coming up tomorrow, I have to take care of some business in Pewter City, you're going to have to go through Viridian Forest by yourself. It's an easy walk just follow the signs, and if you get lost send your Pidgeotto North to lead you out of the forest. Just be careful the Spearow are usually extra aggressive this time of year."

"Thanks for the advise," Ethan said a little disappointed. "I'll see you in Pewter City then."


	5. The Viridian Forest

**Chapter 5**

**The Viridian Forest**

Morning came early for Bear. Waking up in the Viridian Pokécenter brought back memories of his journey. The realization of just how long it had been was enough to make him sit back on his bed. Lost in thought for a moment, Bear then smiled and looked at the clock. 6:30AM. He then quietly left the room to let Ethan sleep. Bear retrieved his Pokémon from Nurse Joy and quietly walked out the door.

* * *  
Ethan woke up, rolled over to look at the clock. 9:00 AM. He sat up and glance to his brother's bed to find what he had already figured. Gone. Ethan took the extra time to shower and prepare for the trip to Pewter City.  
"It's just like Bear to run off without a shower, but it looks like I'm on my own for today," Ethan thought.

Approaching the counter Ethan bumps into Ivy. She looks tired and not in the mood to talk.

"Hey," Ethan uttered.

"Hey."

"You look like you slept like crap."

"I did. I kept playing our battle over and over in my mind. And I can't understand why Bear felt the need to toy with us when he could have had Blaze destroy us."

"Ivy, I keep trying to figure that out. I think he likes a challenge, otherwise he would have lead with Blaze. Also he wanted to teach a lesson that nomatter what the power of a Pokémon is, it also has a lot to do with the skill of a trainer. It has to do with how well the trainer and Pokémon are synced," Ethan replied. "Now if you excuse me I need to leave and meet my brother in Pewter City."

"Ethan, I'm sorry about how I have been acting. I just want to be the best and I have to defeat you and your brother to do this."

"The apology is welcome," Ethan said then smiled. "But I want to be the best too, so I'm going to try to win next time too."

"Alright well good luck, Ethan. I'll see you later, maybe Pewter City." Ivy said with a smile, and left to lobby.

Taking his Pokémon from Nurse Joy, Ethan walked out the front door and headed north twoard the Viridian Forest. As he walked north he thought about all that he had been through in the past three days. First was the battle with Bear's Ryhorn. Then watching Brice lose in a one hit k-o battle. Then the absolute best feeling of flying.

"Knowing my brother he had some hidden meaning somewhere." Ethan thought to himself. "The only problem with flying is that you don't encounter many Pokémon, and you can't spend time with your Pokémon."

Lost in thought Ethan had not realized he was at the enterance to the Viridian Forest. And waiting for him was Blue.

"Ethan, your brother said you'd be by sometime today. Though, it seems to be quite later than he expected from you." Blue smiled.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep well. I kept thinking what cryptic messages Bear was trying to pass on to me from the battle lastnight." Ethan said shrugging.

"He is quite a piece of work. The first time I met him he came trugging into the Pokécenter covered with mud. He was delierious from lack of sleep and soaked to the bone. The only reason for that encounter is because Grandpa was worried about him. He may have never told you, but your brother was one of his favorite students. He wasn't one for school work and graduated at the bottom, but he retained a lot of information that was useable on the battle field. I remember one battle video Grandpa showed me. Bear was using a Weezing and his opponent was using an Exeggutor. Your brother was at a disadvantage, but used a poison gas attack, followed by a flamethrower. This caused a small explosion and lit half of the field on fire causing major damage to the Exeggutor. Also this is the reason the battlefield moved from inside the school to outside."

"Yea, that sounds like my brother. Always trying to find a way to get around his weaknesses. And usually causing collateral damage along the way."

Blue smiled, "After our battle for the Earth Badge, I'll show you the battle video of your brother at my gym. And you should be on your way. The path through the forest is pretty straight forward, just watch out for Beedrill."

"Yeah that's just what I need, a bunch of angry Beedrill. And thank you for everything Blue, Ill be seeing you soon." Ethan said turning to leave, "By the way, where exactly did my brother go so early this morning?"

"I have no idea, he was in a hurry when I bumped into him. Told me to make sure you were up and on your way to Pewter City."

"That sounds like him, always looking out for his baby brother. Thanks again Blue."

Ethan then left Blue and started toward his goal of Pewter City. He was about fifty yards into the forest when he heard someone shouting his name.

Bear was high in the sky by noon on the back of Blaze. Flying over low mountain ridges and sweeping into the plains. "Were almost back to the ranch, Blaze." Blaze then roared happily. Shortly they flew over their home. The fairly good sized ranch north of New Bark Town. Landing with a solid thud, they are greeted by a handful of Bear's Pokémon. Recalling Blaze, Bear kneels down to his Pokémon. "I'm glad to see all of you, but where is Gold?"

"I'm right here, how's that egg?" shouted a young man only a little older than Bear.

"I see you're still wearing that stupid hat and jacket and carrying that stick." Bear laughed. Gold was wearing a black and yellow hat with goggles and a red sweatshirt and carrying his signature pool cue. "All joking aside Gold, the egg is fine. Also, did my package come in?"

"It hasn't yet, but I'm sure you're willing to wait. Also you promised to tell me how you got this place one day, and I'm sure you are up for a story."

"Fine I supppose I'll tell you while we walk to the , you already know that I bought it with money I won as the champion for those years I held the title. The commercials and appearances I made over the past few years. I got tired of it all and saved the money to actually buy some property to raise and study my Pokémon. Oak loved this idea to have a mirrored lab in Johto, so he came over and helped me design the habitats. It seemed once I got started on my ranch, Elm got a grant to expand his lab and bought adjacent property to replicate Oak's place in Pallet Town. And that is how I ended up with all of this land, and why you might have noticed other trainer's Pokémon walking around here."

"It's true I was wondering whos Eeveelutions those were. One day a Vaporeon showed up, the next it was joined by a Flareon and Jolteon."

"Gold, I hate to tell you but those are mine. The last few Pokémon over here that weren't mine were a slew of water types that got kicked out of Elm's pond by an angry Gayrados. You really need to pay closer attention to my Pokédex roster I have in the barn."

"Bear, I apologize, I didn't realize you actually had so many Pokémon."

"It happens that I've been a completionist since I was young. I just have a drive to complete my Pokédex. That's why I did terrible in school I wanted to learn first-hand about Pokémon."

As the duo approach the house, a small package was sitting on the front step. "It looks like it just arrived while we were out in the field. Well I must be off, here are the Pokémon I got for Ethan to borrow. Hopefully this egg hatches soon so we can find out what's in it."

"I do too. Have a safe flight to Pewter City," Gold said waving goodbye as Bear crawled on the back of his Pidgeot. "Let's go Pidgeot, we need to beat Ethan to Pewter City.

It was almost sundown as Ethan exited the Viridian Forest with a huge smile on his face. Not far behind him was Ivy with a smile of about the same caliber. Stopping at the edge of the forest, Ethan gazed upon the small city in the distance. Pewter City is significantly smaller than Viridian City as near as Ethan could make out. On the edge of town closest to the forest sits the familiar red roofed building. The Pewter City PokéCenter. Walking through the sliding doors, Ethan and Ivy put gave their Pokémon to Nurse Joy and then headed to the cafeteria.

"I wonder when Bear is going to get back," Ethan pondered out loud.

"I don't know, Ethan." Ivy replied "The way you talked he was supposed to meet you here. I guess you could ask Nurse Joy if he's been through here yet."

"That's a good idea." Ethan said getting up. A few minutes passed then Ethan came running back to the table. "Ivy, you're not going to believe this, but turn that television to channel 2. Aparently that's a direct feed from the Pokemon Gym, and my brother is battling Brock."

Turning the small television on at their booth Ivy and Ethan whitness the last few minutes of the battle at the Pewter City Gym. "This has been a hard fought battle, and a special treat for every one watching!" the announcer exclaimed. "Normally Brock only uses a special Gym team for battles, but this time he has chosen to show us a rare glimse at his personal team. Also, this is no ordinary challenger, former Pokémon League Champion Bear! If you folks are just tuning in, you haven't missed all the excitement. Each trainer has two Pokémon left. Bear has his Charizard waiting in the wings and his newly evolved Croconaw. That was an amazing sight to see a Totodile taking on a Golem, and then defeating it and evolving. Currently on the field with Croconaw is Brock's Rampardos. This prehistoric Pokémon seems to be a fan favorite from the Sinnoh region."

"Turn it off," Ethan scoffed. "We know who's going to win."

"But I want to watch," whined Ivy giving her best pouty face.

"Fine, but I know Bear is going to win."

On screen Bear's Croconaw took out Brock's Rampardos. This left Brock with his last Pokémon, a Steelix. Quickly finishing off Croconaw with a Thunder Fang attack, the Steelix truned its attention to Blaze.

"Blaze has been hit hard early on in this match by Brock's Forretress' explosion attack." the announcer chimed. "It may be a quick match for Steelix."

Blaze loosed a stream of flame hitting the steel type Pokémon in a weak spot. Steelix roared in pain and then slammed the flying Pokémon into the wall with one Iron Tail attack. Blaze then shook off the attack and flew onto the large snake's head and started pounding on it and shooting flame on it's face. Steelix then rammed it's head into the field. Both Pokémon laid on the ground not moving.

"It looks like both Pokémon have tired themselves out." the announcer chimed. "The match ends in a draw!" Both Bear and Brock recalled their Pokémon and shook hands. They then signed a few autographs and headed out of the gym and presumably to the Pokécenter.

Sitting in the cafateria at the Pokécenter, Bear and Brock sat and laughed and talked about their recent battle and other adventures. Brock left once his Pokémon were healed, "I'll be seeing you tomorrow, Ethan." Brock said and left with a smile.

"I'm glad you and Ivy made up and became friends." Bear said turning to Ethan.

"Yea I'm glad too." Ethan snarled. "I'm just kinda bummed she rushed out to train her Pokémon for her battle tomorrow after your match ended."

"I told you I was sorry that they televised the battle, it wasn't supposed to happen but his five o'clock cancled on him and they needed filler." Bear winced out "I didn't mean to embarrass you or set a standard for you to follow tomorrow."

"I'm just tired of being in your shadow." Ethan huffed.

"Well I was hoping I was going to be able to see someone else here today, but I haven't yet." Bear uttered disappointedly. Just then a tall figure walked through the door. On his shoulder sat a Pikachu, aged with time and an extremely high level. Spotting Bear and Ethan from across the room, slowly approached their table and laid a bandaged hand on Bear's shoulder.

"Sorry I'm late." the figure said.

Ethan looked up from the TV playing footage from earlier. "Holy shit you're RED!" Ethan burst.

"Sit down, I've been waiting. Babybro was just complaining about being in my shadow." Bear giggled.

"You think his shadow is bad, try being in the shadow of me and Blue." said Red sitting down. Pika then jumped from Red's shoulder to Bear's.

"Hi, Pika, you adorable little devil you." Bear said smiling.

"Pika!"

"You dont understand Red, you never had to live with living to a standard with your brother hovering over you." Ethan cried.

"Yea and I understand how you must feel watching your brother. I understand you feel in his shadow, but you have to grow out of the shadow of taller trees to get the light." smiled Red. "Now let's go check on these eggs you two are carrying." Red called back Pika to his Pokéball and they set off the the bunk room the brothers were sharing.

Walking back to the room, a faint noise was heard. Upon opening the door the newly reunited eggs were shaking. The eggs simultainously cracked and white light shown. Now in the shells of the eggs sat two bird Pokémon about the size of a Pidgeotto. One was a silver color with blue accents, the other was mostly orange with rainbow colored feathers. Lugia and Ho-oh.

"Red, do you realize we just witnessed the birth of the legendary birds of Johto..." Bear uttered in amazement.

Bear and Ethan both pulled out an empty Pokéball to catch these miraculous Pokémon. Both birds with without worry, both imprinting on the brothers who carried them those short few days.

"We need to get these chicks back to Prof. Oak immediately." Red pointed out. Ethan then looked sad. "I'm sure he'll let you have your Lugia back after he's done studying it. And if not I'll just bring it back to you." This brought a short grin to Ethan's face, but that was short lived once he remembered his brothers words "I'll leave once the eggs hatch."

Bear understood the sadness, he was going to miss his brother, and most of all not being able to watch his very first gym battle. "I'll leave when your battle with Brock is done. Red and I will set out for Oak's lab, but until then we need to keep this quiet or whatever remains of Team Rocket will want these Pokémon."

Team Rocket...

That was a name neiter Red nor Bear had uttered in a long, long time.

"I thought they were disbanded for good about four years ago, I remember the radio broadcasts. I think his name was Petrel trying to revive after the nine years without Giovanni." Ethan said.

"Thats true," said Red looking down at his feet, "But, there are still pockets of them everywhere and with there being a possibility that they know about Ho-oh and Lugia..." Red stopped and shuttered at the thought. Remembering his first-hand experience at how far Team Rocket would go to capture Pokémon. "Let's just say there is a personal reason I don't want to see the Pokémon in their clutches."

Bear stole another glance at his brother, the terrified look on his face made the protective side of Bear come out. "If you're worried about the babies, they will be fine. Red and I will stay up all night to keep watch."

"That's right someone has a big day tomorrow." Red said smiling. "And if it goes well Brock might even show you his secret training spot in Mt. Moon."

The thought of that brightened Ethan's mood. "Really do you think he'd do that for me?"

"Of course," Bear and Red both said at the same time.

"And it won't be because you are my brother or a personal friend of Red." Bear started to say.

"That's right, you have to prove you're strong." Red finished.

"You guys made me feel better." sighed Ethan, "well goodnight."

"Good night."


End file.
